CEUTA, Spain – Dozens of cats that inhabited 65 feeding stations across the autonomous city have vanished nearly three weeks after the mass migration crisis began, leaving authorities, veterinary professionals, and caregivers perplexed and concerned about the fate of the animals. Caregivers have reported the apparent killing of some cats, including one named Andrés from the Centro neighbourhood colony, whose caregiver Pedro Toro described discovering the animal with cuts consistent with a knife or sharp object after being alerted to what appeared to be a road accident.
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Toro, an interim municipal employee and nursing auxiliary technician, believes the wounds were inflicted to restrict the animal’s mobility so it could be taken elsewhere, with the cat dying shortly after veterinary services were notified. Similar cases have been reported across Ceuta, including a cat from the O’Donnell neighbourhood colony that reappeared after ten days with a wound resembling that of Andrés, while residents and caregivers have also noted the disappearance of seagulls that used to approach the feeding areas.
Some residents have suggested the animals may be being hunted for consumption, though this has not been verified, while Ceuta’s Minister of Health and Social Services, Nabila Benzina Pavón, confirmed that the government, already overwhelmed by the migration situation, is facing disappearances that remain an absolute mystery, with volunteers, animal protection associations, and health technicians working together to locate the animals amid the growing chaos. Since the migrant influx, the situation has spiralled out of control, with the trail of dozens of cats lost, particularly in areas such as El Trampolín beach where caregivers report not a single cat remains, pointing to the occupation of space by irregular migrants.
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Veterinary professionals have highlighted the importance of ethical management of feline colonies, as losing geographical control over colonies increases risks to both the ecosystem and public health, with stray cats capable of spreading zoonotic diseases including ringworm, fungi, parasites, and fleas. The Animal Welfare Law requires municipalities to assume ethical control of feline colonies through capture, sterilisation, and return methods, municipal microchip identification, and comprehensive health care, measures that volunteers and veterinarians describe as impossible under the current state of absolute chaos. The health situation facing the autonomous community has now been compounded by a new problem with unpredictable consequences.
